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Artist/Maker
Rob Fischer
(American, born 1968)
Date2006
MediumAluminum
DimensionsOverall: 34 in. × 7 1/2 in. × 6 in. (86.4 × 19.1 × 15.2 cm)
Credit LineGift of E. M. Bakwin, Class of 1950
Object number2012.3.6
On view
DescriptionThis brilliantly polished, manipulated aluminum sculpture was created from a B-17 airplane propeller. Rob Fischer typically incorporates reclaimed materials into his artwork, infusing remnants from the past with contemporary relevance. Here, Fischer’s use of an airplane propeller originating from a famed American World War II bomber invites the viewer to see the potential beauty of a once-discarded object that symbolizes one of the most difficult chapters in modern history. Both formally and in its title, the sculpture references artist Constantin Brancusi’s Bird in Space series, which was produced between 1923 and 1940. Brancusi famously captured the essence of a bird’s flight as an abstraction—without using conventional representational imagery (SOURCE: Wellin Museum permanent collection label, Summer 2016).
Collections
Additional Details
Exhibition History
2012-13
Clinton, NY (Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art, Hamilton College). "Affinity Atlas," October 6, 2012 - April 7, 2013 (brochure).
Clinton, NY (Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art, Hamilton College). "Affinity Atlas," October 6, 2012 - April 7, 2013 (brochure).
Provenance
2012: Hamilton College (Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art, Hamilton College), by gift of E.M. Bakwin;
?: E.M. Bakwin, by purchase from Cohan and Leslie Gallery, New York;
?: Cohan and Leslie Gallery, from the artist.
?: E.M. Bakwin, by purchase from Cohan and Leslie Gallery, New York;
?: Cohan and Leslie Gallery, from the artist.
Rob Fischer
Date: 2006
Medium: Reclaimed wood, with traces of paint, and steel
Object number: 2012.3.5
Unknown artist
Date: c. 883-859 BCE
Medium: Gypsum with remnants of red pigment
Object number: 1868.5
Hans Fischer
Date: 1952
Medium: Black and white crayon lithograph on paper
Object number: 1984.121
Rhona Bitner
Date: October 29, 2008 (printed 2013)
Medium: Chromogenic print mounted on aluminum
Object number: 2014.3.1
Rhona Bitner
Date: October 28, 2008, printed 2013
Medium: Chromogenic print, mounted on aluminum
Object number: 2014.3.2
Rhona Bitner
Date: 2005 (printed 2018)
Medium: Color coupler print, mounted on aluminum
Object number: 2019.17
Alison Saar
Date: 2021
Medium: Screen print, acrylic spray paint, and gloss varnish on aluminum tin
Object number: 2022.10
El Anatsui
Date: 2024
Medium: Inkjet pigment print with irregular hand-cut edges conforming to the image,
printed and hand-cut and hand-sculpted aluminum collage, and copper wire
Object number: 2024.13